New technology reveals secrets of famous Neandertal skeleton La Ferrassie 1 | EurekAlert!
Binghamton University, State University of New York - An international team of researchers, led by Dr.
Asier Gomez-Olivencia of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
and including Binghamton University anthropologist Rolf Quam, has
provided new insights on one of the most famous Neandertal skeletons, discovered over 100 years ago: La Ferrassie 1
.
"New technological approaches are allowing anthropologists to peer
even deeper into the bones of our ancestors," said Quam. "In the case of
La Ferrassie 1, these approaches have made it possible to identify new
fossil remains and pathological conditions of the original skeleton as
well as confirm that this individual was deliberately buried.

The adult male La Ferrassie 1 Neandertal skeleton was found in 1909
in a French cave site, along with the remains of an adult woman and
several Neandertal children. All of the skeletons were interpreted as
representing intentional burials, and the finds sparked much public
interest at the time regarding just how human-like the Neandertals were.
The La Ferrassie 1 skeleton, in particular, has been highly influential
in Neandertal studies since its discovery... (Vídeo*)

When we think of Neanderthals, we often imagine these distant ancestors of ours to be rather brutish, dying at a young age and ultimately becoming extinct. But new findings show that at least some of these ancient Neanderthals survived into old age – despite suffering from sickness or diseases.

Neanderthals were hunter-gatherers, living in harsh environments, mostly colder than today. And of course they had to face different dangers to modern humans – not only during the hunt, but also because they shared ecosystems with large carnivores such as lions, leopards and hyenas.

But despite this harsh life of the hunter gatherer, our research indicates that some Neanderthals lived to be fairly old and even had some of the signs of age related illnesses – such as degenerative lesions in the spine, consistent with osteoarthritis. Our research also found that an adult male Neanderthal survived bone fractures. And when he died, he was buried by members of his group...